Sundance: Participant Media Acquires Occupy Wall Street Docu ‘99%’

January 28, 2013 – Los Angeles, CA – Participant Media has acquired North American rights to Audrey Ewell & Aaron Aites’ documentary 99%–The Occupy Wall St. Collaborative Film, directed by Ewell & Aites, along with Lucian Read and Nina Krstic, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last week. Following its theatrical run, the film will have its world television premiere on Participant’s new TV channel targeting millennials, scheduled to launch in August.

Participant CEO Jim Berk said, “99% provides a fascinating and involving account of the genesis of one of the most dynamic social movements in recent years, leaving the viewer inspired and full of hope. With our new TV channel we can insure that this film will shine a light on important issue for a national audience.”

As it does with all its films, Participant will mount a Social Action & Advocacy campaign designed to continue the conversation from the film into the community so that people are empowered to become involved.

Says Ewell, “We are so excited be working with Participant on this film. We really can’t think of a better partner to bring “99%” to the world.”

In 2011, seemingly overnight, Occupy captured the imagination of our nation – and the world. The sweeping story of the birth of a movement, 99% – The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film follows a disparate group of activists who converged on lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park to build a new society. Inspired by the idea that wealth and power were disproportionately wielded by an elite few, parks from Pittsburgh to Minneapolis to Jackson Mississippi were soon Occupied. But what did they want? And would their own processes hinder them in achieving it?

As mainstream news failed to find answers, police forces around the country perpetrated indelible acts of violence against American citizens. Arrested by the thousands and forcibly evicted from their encampments, the Occupation finds itself at a crossroad: what’s next? In an era of hopelessness and resignation, 99% offers a striking portrait of those who refused to accept the status quo, while analysis from activists, experts, and detractors finally brings the story into focus.